Blog

Rediscovered silent version of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT opens series "The Silver (Anniversary) Screen"On Thursday we show the first in a series of special films that we will present during our 14-month Silver Anniversary Celebration (July 2010 thru August 2011) under the rubric "The Silver (Anniversary) Screen." The movie is ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT but this ALL QUIET is not the early talkie that won the 1930 Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director. It is a silent version of the same film, shot simultaneously and released to theatres in Europe that had not yet converted to the new technology. (It was recently rediscovered and preserved by the Library of Congress.) This longer, more fluid rendition of Lewis Milestone's anti-war masterpiece is now seen by some as the better of the two movies. Lew Ayres plays a German schoolboy whose heroic notions of war are soon dispelled by the horrible realities of WWI. Though based on a celebrated German novel by Erich Maria Remarque, the film was banned in Germany by Hitler and the Nazis. Wonder why... Though silent, this ALL QUIET won't be quiet; the 35mm print has an orchestral score. Preceding the feature will be the local premiere of a new 6-min. movie by Cleveland filmmaker (and Cleveland Institute of Art Gallery Director) Bruce Checefsky. "Béla" (2009) is a recent realization of a never-produced 1924 experimental film scenario by Hungarian Dada artist György Gerö. You can see this unique double feature for only $10, members and CIA students & staff $7. Restored THE RED SHOES returns to enchant even more movie and ballet fans Back by popular demand is our biggest hit from this past spring! THE RED SHOES (1948) is not only Martin Scorsese's favorite movie but one of the greatest dance-and color-films ever made. And it has never looked better than it does in this breathtaking new 35mm restoration by the UCLA Film Archive. Red-headed Moira Shearer plays a young ballet dancer torn between an all-consuming commitment to her art (and to taskmaster impresario Anton Walbrook) and her love for a struggling composer (Marius Goring). The film's celebrated "Red Shoes" ballet, about a pair of unstoppable dance slippers, is based on a tale by Hans Christian Andersen and mirrors the movie's Art-vs-Life conflict. The legendary team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (BLACK NARCISSUS, STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN) was never more flamboyant and florid, and less drably "British," than in this dazzling spectacle. Watch the original trailer (excuse the out of synch dialogue) and then don't miss the whole movie Friday or Saturday. Subversive Chinese drama SPRING FEVER charts steamy menage a trois Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye (SUZHOU RIVER, PURPLE BUTTERFLY) was banned from filmmaking for five years by authorities unhappy with his 2006 Tiananmen Square melodrama SUMMER PALACE. But two years later he defied the edict and shot a new movie surreptitiously in Nanjing and then submitted it to the Cannes Film Festival as a Hong Kong/French co-production, where it won the prize for Best Screenplay. This Friday and Saturday it comes to Cleveland. SPRING FEVER follows a private investigator who, while trailing an adulterer, becomes involved himself in a torrid, gay/straight love triangle. The film has some explicit sex scenes, which the Chinese authorities won't like either. Watch the trailer then print this post and present it at the box office and see SPRING FEVER for only $6 ($5 if you're a Cinematheque member). It's our Deal of the Week! (Limit two discount admissions per print-out) Marx Bros go back to school in hilarious campus romp HORSE FEATHERSIn HORSE FEATHERS, showing Thursday and Saturday, Groucho plays the president of Huxley College who is pressured to recruit professional football players to improve his team's chances against rival Darwin. But Chico and Harpo are hardly Jim Brown and Bernie Kosar... Wear Groucho glasses when you purchase your ticket and save a buck! (You can buy a pair from us for only $2.) Kids 12 & under pay only $6 ($5 with Groucho glasses). This Week's Films Thu., July 29, at 5:30 pm Sat., July 31, at 5:30 pm The Marx Brothers in HORSE FEATHERS Thu., July 29, at 7:00 pm The Rediscovered Foreign Version! Silent with music! ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Fri., July 30, at 7:00 pm Sat., July 31, at 9:35 pm Sexy Chinese drama SPRING FEVER Fri., July 30, at 9:15 pm Sat., July 31, at 7:00 pm Back by Popular Demand! THE RED SHOES Next Week's Films ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND! Fri., Aug. 6, at 5:30 pm Sat., Aug. 7, at 9:25 pm ROAD MOVIE Fri., Aug. 6, at 7:25 pm Sat., Aug. 7, at 5:30 pm DUCK SOUP Fri., Aug. 6, at 8:55 pm Sat., Aug. 7, at 7:00 pm THE LAW Sun., Aug. 8, at 6:30 pm Special Advance Screening! MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT Sun., Aug. 8, at 8:45 pm Special Advance Screening! MESRINE: PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1 The Cinematheque The Cleveland Institute of Art 11141 East Boulevard Cleveland, OH 44106 Phone: (216) 421-7450 http://cia.edu/cinematheque